The Indian government on Sunday indefinitely suspended visa operations at the Indian Visa Application Centre in Bangladesh’s Chittagong amid widespread unrest following the death of student leader Sharif Osman Bin Hadi, the Dhaka Tribune reported.
The Indian Visa Application Centre said services at its Chittagong facility would be suspended from until further notice, citing a recent security incident at the Assistant High Commission of India in the city. The statement added that an announcement on reopening would be made after reviewing the situation, PTI reported.
Hadi’s death triggered protests, vandalism and attacks across Bangladesh, including stone-throwing at the residence of the Assistant Indian High Commissioner in Chittagong on Thursday.
The unrest also prompted demonstrations in India. On Sunday, the Ministry of External Affairs rejected reports in sections of the Bangladesh media claiming that Indian nationals had threatened Bangladesh’s diplomats in New Delhi, describing them as “misleading propaganda”.
Responding to queries about a reported demonstration outside the Bangladesh High Commission on Saturday, ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that a group of 20 to 25 youths had gathered to protest the killing of Dipu Chandra Das, a member of Bangladesh’s Hindu minority, and to demand protection for minorities in the country.
He had added that there was no attempt to breach security at the mission and that the gathering was dispersed within minutes, reiterating India’s commitment to the safety of foreign missions and diplomatic personnel under the Vienna Convention.
Hadi was a prominent leader of last year’s student-led protests that led to the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government. He was also a candidate in the general elections scheduled for February 12. He was shot in the head in Dhaka area on December 12 and died while undergoing treatment in Singapore on December 18.
India operates five Indian Visa Application Centres in Bangladesh which are in Dhaka, Khulna, Rajshahi, Chattogram and Sylhet. An Indian Visa Application Centre official told PTI that the remaining four centres were operational as of Sunday.
India had resumed visa operations at its Dhaka centre on Thursday, a day after suspending services amid heightened security concerns. The centres in Rajshahi and Khulna were also briefly shut after anti-India protesters attempted to march towards Indian missions in those cities.
On Saturday, security was further tightened at the Assistant High Commission of India and the visa application centre in Bangladesh’s Sylhet, PTI reported.
The measures were put in place to ensure that “no third party can exploit the situation”, Additional Deputy Commissioner (Media) of the Sylhet Metropolitan Police, Saiful Islam, was quoted as saying by the Dhaka Tribune.
On December 17, India’s Ministry of External Affairs summoned Bangladesh’s envoy to New Delhi, Riaz Hamidullah, and conveyed its concerns over announcements by extremist elements about creating a security situation around the Indian mission in Dhaka.
Also Read: Opinion: What India must do to help restore stability in Bangladesh
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